Arrow



G. M. BUTLER Feb. 6, 1951 ARROW Filed April 3, 1947 R. mr E w+ U E 4M ED EY E WIIII S Y E N R m T A Patented Feb. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE f ARROW George Merrick Butler, Miami, Fla.

Application April 3, 1947, Serial No. 739,053

rfhis invention relates to projectiles and more specifically to arrows.An example of the use of the arrow herein disclosed is in fishing.v

An important object f the invention is to provide an arrow soconstructed and arranged that it will be effective in fishing, in that,afterbeing shot through the air, it will enter and pass through water,having sufficient momentum for the head portion thereof to penetrate thefish. After penetration, the head portion will remain in the fish untilmanually removed.

Another important object is to provide an arrow as described which willnot tend to rust nor corrode, is light in weight and may be shot fromconventional bows.

Still another object is to provide an arrow head of novel shape,provided with a movable barb, whereby the barb will normally remainclose to the arrowhead and rearwardly of the point thereof but, afterthe arrowhead penetrates, the barb will assume a position whereby itslongitudinal axis forms an acute angle with the longitudinal axis of thehead. The barb will'assume this angular position during the initialstruggles of the iish, so that the latter cannot free itself from thehead.

The problems of providing arrowheads adapted for iiight through air onlyare radically different from those arising in the provision ofarrowheads adapted to first pass through air, then through water andfinally enter a sh. An arrowhead may be satisfactory for air flight andeven for 1 Claim. (Cl. 43-6) movement through water, but because of thescaly surface of fish, many arrowheads are wholly unsuited forpenetration between the scales. The arrowhead of this invention isadaptedto penetrate between the scales of the fish and enter the sh bodysufficiently for the barb to come into play as will be more fullydetailed.

Other objects and advantages of this inveny tion will be apparent duringthe course of the following detailed description of the invention takenin connection with the drawing forming a part of this disclosure and inwhich drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the complete arrow, including head, shaft,and connecting` portions.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the head portion, with a movable barb in araised portion (in dots and dashes) and a lowered position in dots anddashes. y

Figure A3 is a rear or bow end view of the shaft portion.

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on the ine 4 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section of the connecting portion andhead of Figures l and 6.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the connecting portion with endsof the head and shaft portions carried thereby.

Figure 7 illustrates the movable connection of the barb and head portionof Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the movable barb ofFigure 2.

In the drawing, wherein for the .purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar referencecharacters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,the shaft portion is designated as I0, the head portion as II and thehead and shaft connecting portion as I2.

The shaft portion I!! may be of a suitable lightweight material, such asaluminum, formed into a cylindrical rod of a length of twenty-four tothirty inches, for example. However, the length may vary withinreasonable limits. The rear section I3 of the shaft portion I0 may beprovided with a suitable notch or slot I4 for the bowstring and, spacedfrom the notch I4, is a suitable means I5 to secure a flexible member I6 to the shaft portion I0. This means I5 may be a U-shaped member withthe legs thereof secured to the shaft portion Ill in any approved wayas, for example, extending into the body of the shaft portion and heldthereby. The bight portion of the U-shaped member extends outwardly ofthe shaft portion so that one end of the flexible member I6, which ispreferably a cord, may be secured thereto, as by tying. The head endface I 1 of the shaft portion is preferably fiat. Extending through thehead end section of the shaft portion may be a perforation I8 toaccommodate means to secure the shaft portion to the connecting portionI2.

The head portion I I which is also known as the arrowhead portion, maybe of stainless steel, bronze or brass, for example. It includes asubstantially clylindrical rear end section 20 and a generally conical,but partly flattened longitudinally, forward end section 2|, so thatthere is provided a rst flattened face 22 extending from a point 23(well rearwardly of the forward- 3 axes normal to the longitudinal axisof the head portion l0. It will be noted in Figure 7 that the junctureof the first iiattened face 22 and the base of the shoulder 24 isarcuate for a purpose later detailed. From the top of this shoulder tothe point 26 of the head portion l0 is a second flattened face 2l. Thisface is, of course, broadest at the shoulder end thereof and its edgesconverge to the point 26. This construction has been found particularlyadvantageous in the use of the arrow under water. The rear end face 36of the head portion l l is preferably iiat, for abutment with the iiathead end face il of the shaft portion l0.

Movably associated with the head portion ll is the barb 30. This barbmay be of steel, as stainless steel, and includes a shoulder-attachedend section 3l, pointed end section 32 and hook 33 intermediate andprojecting outwardly from the sections 3l and 32. The size and generalshape of the barb 30 is such that its ioulder-attached end section 3l(which is a tongue, less in width than the width of the section 3E) willbe accommodated within the recess defined by the first flattened face 2iand shoulder 24, with the point portion of the hook 33 normally restingupon the face 2l. It should be noted that the hook 33 presents from itstip or point to its juncture with the main sections 3i and 32 a fairlylong, curved surface, preferably achieved by cutting into or slittingobliquely the material at the juncture of the sections 3l and 32 andupsetting the material to form the hook. Thus there is provided a recessadjacent the hook, plus the relatively long curved surface mentioned,whereby, when the barb is positioned, as in its full line position as inFigure 7, the barb will hold the sh securely after the arrow or headportion penetrates it. A suitable pivot pin Sli may be employed tomovably (pivotally) connect barb 30 with the shoulder 24, by extendingthrough a perforation at the shoulder-attaching end 3i of the barb andthrough the perforationsintheehoulder 24, this end of the barbextending, of course, into the slot 25. The curved juncture orconnection of the first iiattened face 22 and the base of the shoulder24 coupled with an angular edge at the extreme part of theshoulder-attaching end Si of the barb 30, forming a point permits readyoscillating of the barb yet does not permit the free end of the barb toswing too far toward the point 26 (when, for example the stop meanssubsequently described may become worn) since this edge will contact theadjacent surface of the head portion il and thus limit movement of thebarb in one direction as may be seen in Figure 7. A perforation 35extending transversely through the portion l provides for a pin forconnection of the portion il to the portion l2 to be next dee scribed.

The shaft and shaft connecting portion l2 may be a tubular length ofsuitable material, as copper, with a bore to snugly accommodate theextreme forward or head end of the shaft portion and the extreme rearend of the head portion H, with the faces Il and 36 in abutment andsuitable pins extending through the perforations I8 and -35 andcorresponding perforations in the portion I2. This portion l2 is foundto obviate a diiculty encountered in coupling the shaft and headportions, since with other coupling means, the head portion was inclinedto break from the shaft portion.

The operator may shoot the novel arrow in the conventional way, by meansof a suitable bow (no specially built bow is necessary). When shot, thebarb 30 is within its recess mentioned. Striking the water at, say, a 30angle with respect to the water surface, the arrow will travel, a footbelow the surface, for a distance of six to eight feet. Being shot at a75 angle with respect to the water surface, the arrow is effective at adepth of about 31/2 feet. After penetration, the initial struggles ofthe sh cause the barb 30 to take a position such as shown indot-and-dashes in Figure 3, or in full lines in Figure 7, causing thebarb as a whole plus its hook 33 to hold the fish against coming oi thehead section il.

It should be noted that the point 26 of the head portion Il is notmovable, hence there is no possibility of its being deflected withrespect to the shaft portion l0, but the barb 3@ is movable (beinglimited by the wider section 3l abutting the top of the shoulder 24, asthe barb Sii reaches a position somewhat less than right angular withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the head portion Il and limited alsoby the point heretofore mentioned). The movement of the pointed end 32of the barb is, as is apparent, in an arc up to substantially 120, butthe hook 33 is eiective at any angle.

Various changes may be made to the form of the invention herein shownand described without departing from the spirit of the invention orscope of the claim.

What I claim is:

An arrowhead comprising a substantially cylindrical rear end section, aforward end section rigid therewith and provided with a point, twoattened faces intermediate the length of said arrowhead, a shoulderintermediate said faces, one attened face extending from the base of theshoulder to said substantially cylindrical rear end section and dening,with said shoulder, a recess, and the other face extending from adjacentthe top of the shoulder to said point, a barb having an outer pointedend section, a shoulderattached end section, and a hook extendingintermediate said end sections, said barb being normally disposed withinsaid recess, with said hook resting upon the at face of said recess, andmeans pivotally connecting said barb to said shoulder.

GEORGE MERRICK BUTLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis jpatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 78,673 Kelley June 9, 18681,832,727 Nixon Nov. 17, 1931 1,920,790 Hendrie Aug. 1, 1933 FOREIGNPATENTS Number A Country Date 45,787 Norway Dec. 27, 1926

